Despite Vitalianus’s lie, Hio did not press him.
He merely looked at him instead.
Even for a user of intent, it was a difference so minute that it would be invisible without focus, but as it happened, both Regarda and Hio had been focused on Vitalianus.
As if Vitalianus would not know that.
He must have known that the lie he had tried so hard to hide had been discovered.
And yet the fact that he only smiled in a circle and said nothing more was an expression of his will that he would not take back his words.
If so, then that judgment had to be respected.
After all, was this not Vitalianus of all people?
Had he not been a hero who, even back when this was a game, would charge in without regard for his own life if it was for the Empire?
So there must be a reason.
It might be something he could not say in front of everyone, or perhaps he needed a little more time to think.
‘I’ll give it some time and go talk to him separately.’
There was no way to force his mouth open right now, nor did Hio want to do so.
Then all that remained was to move on to the next stage.
Naturally.
“Anyway, what we have to do has become clear.”
The puzzle of his memories had not fit together perfectly, but he had gained a rough flow and precious information, so what needed to be done had also become clear.
That was why there was no need for a long conversation.
Because they all knew too well what each of them had to do.
“I shall devote myself to stabilizing the Empire.”
Vitalianus was the first to leave.
He would return to the Empire and lend his military might to Sylvia’s policies for stabilizing the continent.
They had announced the extinction of Rifyue, and though it had seemed to falter for a moment, the number of priests was slowly and surely increasing.
By swiftly clearing the 71st floor this time, they had broken the chain of failure, and thus bought time to completely annihilate the Abyss Monsters and purify the continent.
For that purpose, Vitalianus was the first to depart.
“Then I too…… shall return.”
Antipus chose to log out.
The outside world was just as chaotic and turbulent as this place—no, perhaps even more so.
There were likely still many regions struggling against monsters, and there would be cities and people to rescue as well.
With the appearance of the massive religious organization known as the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult and the beginning of its use of divine power, the structure of world powers and the direction of strength had been overturned.
In such a situation, Antipus, whom one would have expected to firmly hold the center of power, had left his post to participate in the raid.
Honestly, it was something Hio had not expected.
“Yeah. Thanks for coming.”
That was why he offered the customary words of farewell, but……
“No need to thank me…… I merely did what had to be done.”
This guy’s reaction was definitely strange.
If it were the Antipus Hio knew, he should have arrogantly nodded and left right away; that would have been Antipus. But the Antipus now was somehow a dampened Antipus.
“Uh…… yeah. Take care.”
Once the dampened Antipus had been sent off, four people remained.
From here on was what truly mattered.
“Then what we must do is…… find Ariel’s temple, I suppose.”
Hio nodded at Regarda’s words.
“Find it and investigate the area around it. Freya, look for places where the mana reactions are strange.”
“Yes!”
There had been a dragon at the top of the Magic Tower, in the Tower Master’s room, and there was a high probability that there was a passage there leading to the end of the world.
However, that was the highest floor of the Magic Tower.
Aside from Hio, Airaitz, and Freya, there was no one who could enter the Magic Tower itself, so they had to look for another passage.
And as one such possibility, they intended to investigate Ariel’s dwelling, which had once been the dragon’s temple.
“So much time has passed that I don’t know whether the temple is still intact.”
“Do not worry about that. It will be there exactly as it was in the beginning, without the slightest difference.”
“……Is that so. In any case, search as much as you can, and if you don’t find anything in particular, you can come back. It’s not as if we have no alternative.”
“Very well.”
There was an alternative.
They simply had not tested it yet.
“Then I shall see you at the next raid, mage.”
The dragon and the dragon knight left as well.
Thus, the only people remaining were Hio and Airaitz, the two of them.
Hio looked at Airaitz, and Airaitz looked at Hio in return.
Her pretty, bright crimson eyes seemed to sparkle even more than before.
“The place we’re going…… there’s only one, right?”
“I’m fine with anywhere. Wherever Hio wants to go.”
An arm linked with his in a familiar manner.
A skill activated naturally.
「Transcendent Skill - ‘Dimensional Transfer (次元轉移)’ is activating.」
“The Magic Tower…… no, the Verden southern region, the mage’s house.”
It was time to return to the Magic Tower.
Honestly, he was a little afraid.
Would everything still be the same?
Even though he knew it could not possibly be, he wondered whether Kreutzwald had pulled some trick again.
Furnell…… would he be all right?
“To the front of the last mage’s grave.”
Along with those thoughts, a massive violet line appeared, and Hio and Airaitz’s bodies vanished as though being sucked into it.
* * *
The mage’s house, returned to after several years.
Hio’s first teacher, and the last mage, the only one among the generation that had lost magic to create magic anew.
The front of that grave was quiet as always.
Even though Hio and Airaitz appeared, cutting through space along with a violet line, there was only a brief stir.
As if nothing had happened, it immediately sank back into silence.
The clumsily built mound was now covered in all kinds of grass and had become a proper-looking grave, while the small tombstone standing beside it added a tranquil atmosphere to the place.
“…….”
For a while, Hio looked down at the grave without saying anything, and Airaitz likewise stayed with him without any particular words.
After some time had passed like that.
“Let’s go now.”
He turned and entered the mage’s house.
Everything was just as it had been.
Only the space on the first floor, where people had once lived, was thick with dust, but at least its form remained unchanged.
It was the same even after going down underground.
Passing the second floor and arriving at the third, the traces of Berga’s day-and-night research to create a skill remained exactly as they had been.
The traces Hio had deliberately not cleaned up.
He almost sank into memories once again, but—
Rumble—
Using the Pavlenko family necklace to open the hidden door to the fourth underground floor and begin descending, tension slowly began to fill him.
The moment he discovered the portal sitting boldly in the center, and even as he approached it, the tension grew.
“Hio…… are you okay?”
Enough for Airaitz to speak with worry mixed in her voice.
Without realizing it, he had been tense.
“……Yeah, I’m fine.”
There was only one reason he was this tense, after all.
His second teacher and friend.
Furnell Penchev—what if he had disappeared?
What if, because Hio had followed Kreutzwald to the end of the world, he had been extinguished?
That worry must have been the reason.
“Phew.”
With a short sigh, he released his tension and brought his hand to the portal.
A familiar pure white light burst forth.
「The area connected to the portal is the ancient city of Tetradia - ‘Magic Tower.’」
「Will you enter the portal?」
A bright light completely enveloped the entire underground space, as well as Hio and Airaitz.
His vision was blinded by it, and according to the fixed magic, his body and soul moved together.
「Entering the portal.」
「Moving to the ancient city of Tetradia - ‘Magic Tower.’」
After a fleeting instant, when he slowly opened his eyes again—
He saw the familiar scenery of the 101st floor of the Magic Tower.
The spacious interior and the training space for novice mages.
And.
- Why are you so late!
Even the sight of Furnell, his body swollen greatly as though he were angry.
“……Furnell!”
Only then did the tension loosen, and a bright smile rose on his face.
“Furnell, who talks a filthy amount but doesn’t know what’s important!”
- ……Hm?
It was their reunion after a year and a half since their abrupt parting on the 58th floor.
* * *
- This young lady here is that psy…… no, that pretty young lady?
“That’s right.”
“This vicious-looking specter has been parasitizing Hio’s body all this time?”
“……Parasitizing is…… well, anyway, that’s right too.”
Starting with Airaitz and Furnell warmly exchanging greetings, the stories that had piled up began to flow.
After all, so much had happened over the course of more than a year.
“So you’re saying your soul, which was originally split in two, merely became one again?”
- Indeed. Immediately after you disappeared following Lord Kreutzwald, I was flung out and fused right back with my main body. It was truly a mysterious experience beyond words, one might say……
“Don’t call Kreutzwald ‘Lord’…… Don’t attach that kind of word to him.”
- Tsk! Are you still saying such things? He is the one who founded black magic and completely overturned the existing concept of necromancers……
It seemed there was far too much they needed to talk about.
As Hio was pondering where to begin and how to explain, Airaitz exquisitely blocked Furnell from view and thrust her face before Hio’s eyes.
“More importantly, Hio. We can explain slowly, but isn’t there something we need to check first?”
“That’s right.”
Leaving behind Furnell, who was flying around busily and beginning to preach about Kreutzwald’s greatness, Hio headed back toward the portal.
- ……What he accomplished at merely fifteen years of age was…… Hm? Where are you going?
“There’s something I need to check.”
- Check? What do you mean?
“Whether I can ascend to the top of the Magic Tower.”
The floors of the Magic Tower opened sequentially according to the portal user’s capacity.
If so, what about now, when he had made seven rings, even if they were empty shells?
Checking that came first.
- By the top of the Magic Tower, do you mean the Tower Master’s room? How could you possibly……
Furnell’s voice, which had been about to ask how he could go there, cut off abruptly.
Hio had deliberately loosened his strength slightly, allowing it to be observed.
The seven rings flowing nobly through Hio’s body.
The overwhelming power of mana that formed a single galaxy and dominated his body.
- You…… what is this……? Before, you could not even grasp the realm of the 6th Circle, could you not?
The emotions pouring from Furnell were varied.
Every moment, all sorts of emotions became beautiful colors and gushed out.
Among them, the most impressive was, after all, perhaps disappointment.
“What? Are you upset that I grew so much while you were gone?”
- ……Up-upset, nonsense! I was merely a little surprised, that is all.
“Even so, it’s still only an empty shell. I made seven rings, but maybe because there wasn’t a ghost around to pretend to know things, I haven’t filled in the patterns yet.”
- You made the 7th Circle and still have no patterns? Tsk, tsk! As expected, without me, you cannot do anything!
Letting out a chuckle at the sight of Furnell becoming triumphant with a single sentence, Hio placed his hand on the portal.
As he rotated all seven rings and poured all the mana generated into the portal—
「Confirmed mana is 7th Circle.」
「There are a total of 152 areas you can travel to.」
Having reached the 7th Circle beyond the 6th, the number of areas he could go to had already increased severalfold.
At first, familiar floors appeared.
「Magic Tower 101st Floor - Training Grounds for Novice Mages (Temporary)」
「Magic Tower 102nd Floor - Training Grounds for Apprentice Mages (Temporary)」
「Magic Tower 103rd Floor - Training Grounds for Full-Fledged Mages (Temporary)」
「Verden Southern Region Independent Base (3) - Mage’s House」
「Verden Southern Region Necromancer Branch (2) - Mage’s House」
「Imenia Magic University (1) - Mage’s House」
「Magic Tower 110th Floor - Necromancy Education Practice Room」
「Magic Tower 111th Floor - Elemental Mage (Fire) Education Practice Room」
「Magic Tower 112th Floor - Elemental Mage (Earth) Education Practice Room」
「Magic Tower 113th Floor - Elemental Mage (Wind) Education Practice Room」
……
「Magic Tower 126th Floor - Chronomancy Education Practice Room」
After passing those and scrolling all the way down, unfamiliar words began to appear.
Unfamiliar names.
「Magic Tower 89th Floor - Room of Golem Researcher Relendis Arpe」
「Magic Tower 90th Floor - Room of Spirit Authority Maserin Misen」
……
And after even those, one place appeared at the very end.
「Magic Tower 150th Floor - Room of Tower Master Abelard Pavlenko」
At last, he had gained the qualification to go to the highest floor of the Magic Tower.